Mallett burned the Browns with a no-huddle attack that tired out a defense unable to get much pressure on the signal-caller. That lack of an edge rush was triggered by an average time per pass attempt from Mallett of 2.06 seconds, by far the NFL's lowest in Week 11, per Pro Football Focus.

The site points out that when the ball was out of Mallett's hand in under 2.5 seconds, his passer rating soared to 123.1 compared to just 31.3 when he held the ball longer.

His rapid release and plus arm strength give Houston a vertical game they lacked with Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Mallett knows the Bengals -- armed with game tape -- will zero in on the raw aspects of his development.

"This game is very humbling," Mallett said. "Once you think you've arrived, you figure out different. So my thought process is be the best I can every day at whatever it is."